Almanac Excerpt

August In past years one could often see and hear the common nighthawk as it circled in the glow of streetlights, picking off moths and other insects attracted by the

July The American Chestnut was once the most common tree in the eastern woods. Chestnut is in the beech family and is related to the oaks that replaced it as

June Eastern Comma butterfly got its name from a white comma-shaped marking under its wing. The commas identify it as one of the “anglewing” butterflies. The margins of their wings

May Trout Lily is also known as dogtooth violet or yellow adder’s tongue. It grows in colonies in moist woods. Yellow, nodding flowers are carried singly above the basal mottled

April Shadbush is a multi-stemmed, vase-shaped shrub, the smallest of the many serviceberry species, which grows to be 10 to 20 feet high and five to 10 feet wide. Shadbush

March The American Woodcock is most noticeable during its remarkable mating display, beginning in March as snow clears from overgrown fields. Check the meadows in Nahanton Park. At dusk, the

February Common Hair Cap Moss forms lush green carpets on moist, slightly acid soils in the woodlands of Newton. This moss gets its name from the hairs that cover the

January Unlikely as it may seem, some ferns are easy to find despite a several-inch blanket of snow. Most ferns emerge in April, grow spores under their fronds in the

December The White-winged Crossbill is an occasional winter visitor to the Newton area. It uses its crossed mandibles to pry open cones of spruce and hemlock, extracting seeds with its

November Late fall is the best time to see this lively little freshwater duck. Along with other waterfowl, it migrates south through our region in November. It is most often

October Sassafras are trees that grow to be 30 to 60 feet tall and can live for more than a century. It is dioecious, meaning each tree is male or

September The Cedar Waxwing is a year-round bird in Massachusetts, often seen in September feeding on fruit left hanging on bare trees. It travels in flocks, moving from tree to

August Sweetfern is not a fern but a short round shrub. It grows to be two to four feet high and four to eight feet wide. It is called sweetfern

July A Monarch Butterfly is a spectacular frequent visitor to the gardens and conservation areas of Newton. It is hard to miss this large butterfly with its striking wing pattern

June A Green Heron is a slender, long-legged bird found standing upright at the water’s edge in ponds in the Newton Cemetery or at Dolan Pond. It may be partly

May A member of the buttercup family, this is one of the most colorful blossoms of the early spring woods, blooming sometime from late April to mid-June on ledges and